Maybe it's the jet lag, but as I ride north from the city to wine country after a long flight over the water, I could swear I am still in California. The hills, tawny in the summer sun, remind me of home; the grape-heavy vineyards stretching to the horizon; the family-run fruit stands along country roads.

But we're not in California anymore, mate.

We're driving on the left side of the road, for one thing. The most famous wine grape cultivated here is Shiraz, not Cabernet or Chardonnay. And the summer sun isn't baking the countryside in July; it's February. I'm Down Under - in Australia's Barossa Valley.

I've journeyed here in just over an hour from Adelaide, the handsome state capital of South Australia, along the Northern Expressway, with guide Jonathan Milne behind the wheel. As we roll past high-profile wineries such as Penfolds and Wolf Blass, Milne fills me in on the region's story:

Barossa Valley ("the Barossa") saw its first Europeans - mostly Germans and Brits - in the 1830s. The Germans promptly planted vines and started making wine. Today, the Barossa is probably the best-known wine-producing region in Oz. Happily, it was spared from toxic phylloxera, giving the Barossa some of the oldest vines in the world - thick, gnarly trunks, at least one of which dates back to 1843.

It's not all about the wine: Deep-rooted, artisanal-minded bakers, butchers, cheese makers and olive growers abound. Although Adelaide (population 1.2 million) is barely 40 miles away, the Barossa is very "country" in look and feel; it has just 20,000 year-round residents.

I set off to meet a few of them on my first full day, at the Barossa Farmers' Market, held every Saturday near Angaston, a town of 1,800. I have visited many farmers' markets, not least the exquisite San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, but this promises to be among the best, as well as being a prime place to see the local foodies in their natural habitat.

I tag along with Barossa chef Mark McNamara, who ducks into the big, covered market shed where dozens of vendors have set up booths and basic kitchens. He seems to know everyone. McNamara, who served as executive chef at Appellation, a destination restaurant at the Louise, a casually elegant hotel in Marananga, chats up a seller of beef and lamb, a roaster of coffee, a purveyor of fresh farm eggs. He nibbles some cheese. I do the same.

Then I wander off to check out a bloke selling local olives and olive oil. His business card reads "John Williams, Oliveologist, Cornucopia Farming." The olives on offer are winningly briny and tasty. As it happens, my wife and I have a dozen young Mission olive trees outside our home, where we someday hope to harvest bumper crops of California olives, so he has my attention straightaway.

McNamara, the chef, waves me over to meet a smiling, smartly dressed woman with a full shopping bag: Maggie Beer, one of Australia's best-known foodies. Beer is an antipodean Alice Waters, and then some: restaurateur, TV cooking show presenter, cookbook author, shopkeeper. Her Maggie Beer's Farm Stand is one of the most popular stops in the Barossa; there, one can buy (deep breath) jams, jellies and glazes, pulled pork, pheasant, dried mustard apricots and much more.

The farm-to-fork movement that so animates California has also taken root in the Barossa, along with the holy trinity of the gastronome's gospel: local, seasonal and sustainable. This is evident pretty much everywhere, from Appellation, where chef Ryan Edwards smartly matches South Australia food and wine, to the Barossa Farmers' Market, where I devour a satisfyingly robust beef Market Burger topped with the inevitable bacon, a free-range egg, caramelized onion and baby spinach (price: $7.85).

A lot like Sonoma

Once back on the road, we follow winding, two-lane macadam ribbons past rows of vineyards, the occasional golf course, scattered stands of eucalyptus and palms, open fields and family farms. With its agricultural diversity, the Barossa resembles Sonoma.

If you're a good walker or cyclist, there's no need to drive. A scenic walking trail follows the Para River and winds its way to four wineries: Peter Lehmann, Richmond Grove, Lambert Estate and Langmeil.

From the top of modest-size Mengler Hill, I get an overview of the valley: flat-bottomed, with the North Para River coursing through it, bordered by hills. At the bottom of Mengler Hill, a public sculpture garden graces the site.

The valley is speckled with picturesque small towns. All are neatly kept, with tidy, flowery streets and compact downtowns enriched by one-of-a-kind shops and cafes. In Angaston, I grab an espresso at Blond Coffee and admire the town's pretty houses and gardens.

I said earlier that it's not all about the wine in the Barossa, and that's true. But local wines are highlights of the table, and the valley's 150-plus wineries are focal points for locals and travelers alike. Most wineries host free "cellar door" tours and tastings.

Interesting wineries

When I first heard that Aussie term, I pictured a rustic winery door with rusty hinges. The term is more metaphorical than actual, however; some cellar doors include not only wine cellars and shops, but cafes and full-service restaurants.

One of the most interesting of the half dozen wineries I visit is Two Hands Wines. Interesting because the wines are so good. Two Hands is known for Shiraz and Grenache. Drinking these wines makes me realize the Aussies keep their best vintages Down Under; the Australian supermarket staples with funny animal names that we get Up Over aren't indicative of how good Aussie wine can be.

The day I visit Two Hands, the wines are poured by a young Bay Area couple who are studying winemaking in Australia. A fair number of Aussies have done the same in Napa and Sonoma, and the California-Barossa connection doesn't stop there. The Barossa's first five-star hotel, the Louise, was opened in 2006 by Silicon Valley expats Jim and Helen Carreker, who swapped high tech for hospitality.

I wind up my own Down Under wine and food study tour at Hentley Farm, a lovely, 150-acre spread with heritage stone buildings and a star chef with an adventurous spirit: Lachlan Colwill.

Bounty on display

Although I wasn't in the Barossa at festival time, the valley's bounty is on display every year during the Barossa Gourmet Weekend, which showcases cooking classes, wine classes and music (the fest is Aug. 15-17 this year). Every second year the far larger Barossa Vintage Festival holds pride of place, with 100 public events, a ball, a wine auction and a parade (April 15-19, 2015).

Just substitute Sonoma Valley Olive Festival or Napa Valley Mustard Festival, and the kinship between North and South is quickly evident. The Barossa is a long journey from California, but once you're there, it feels an awful lot like home.

If you go

Getting there

Flights: United Airlines flies nonstop between San Francisco and Sydney; transfer in Melbourne for Adelaide. Qantas and Virgin Australia fly nonstop between Los Angeles International Airport and Sydney, then to Adelaide via Melbourne. The Barossa is a one- to 1 1/2-hour drive from Adelaide.

The Australian dollar is worth about 90 cents. Prices here are in U.S. dollars.